Goodbye, Little Brother
by AngelaStoneWood
Summary: Korwell was always very sick when he was kid. Sometimes he couldn't even get up in the morning. He looked completely fine that morning but then he suddenly collapsed on the floor... (Character death, might be a bit scary)


**Hello! This is a bit weird story that I wrote since I couldn't get any ideas for _Dopplegänger_ or _The Peaceful Days of Happiness_ and happened to think about Krowell's death... I warn you that the story might be bit scary since I described Krowell's death a bit more than I planned to...**

**Without any further explanation, please go on with the story!**

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When the youngest prince of Raggs was young he used to get sick very often. It was very rare to see him going out of his room and having a long chat with someone. He was actually very seldom talking to people even when he was healthy. The only ones whom he talked to were his two older brothers, Krom and Kreuz. Krom was always asking his youngest brother what did he want to do but the young prince always hid somewhere and read all the day long without even seeing other people. Kreuz in other hand was much busier and almost never talked to his younger brother. Krom always found time for little Krowell and kept him interested in the business of the Raggs castle. It was again one of those mornings when Krom was talking to Krowell about the new rumors in the castle.

"…And the head cook dropped the steak and it fell on mother's dress", Krom told. "Mom was just passing by and the head cook was so embarrassed. Mom's dress became so dirty so the head cook tried to quit his job right there and then. I'm glad that father managed to persuade our dear cook to stay."

Krowell smiled awkwardly at his older brother's outburst. He wasn't very used to talking so he usually let his brothers do the talking. He tried to think about something to say but he was stuck in the thought that the head cook's reaction was hilarious and that he was happy that their nice head cook would stay in the castle.

"It's good that the cook will stay", Krowell said silently.

"What did you say?" Krom asked while bending to Krowell's level. Krom had grown up very much recently and he was almost his father's height already. Krowell was only 20 centimeters over a meter so their height difference was remarkable.

"I said that it's good that the head cook will stay", Krowell said with a bit louder voice. Krom smiled and suddenly lifted Krowell up.

"I was just joking, Krowell", Krom laughed. "I heard you perfectly. I'm just worried that other people won't hear your silent voice." Krom started some kind of weird dance while keeping little Krowell in the air on his arms. After dancing some time Krom finally let Krowell fall into his arms and started carrying his younger brother like a mother would be carrying her child.

"Where are you carrying me, brother?" Krowell asked.

"I'll show you the most beautiful spot in our garden~", Krom sang. Krowell just held his brother's shirt tightly when Krom walked. After five minutes of walking Krom finally placed Krowell on soft grass in a place which Krowell had never seen. Krowell's eyes widened as he saw the Raggs castle being reflected from water that fell from a tiny fountain which seemed very old and almost forgotten. There was already some plants and moss growing on its structure. Krowell looked at it for a moment and then turned to see his older brother.

"Can you draw this someday, Krom?" Krowell asked. He was smiling a very joyful smile and there was a light blush on his cheeks.

"You're so cute!" Krom yelled in joy and hugged Krowell. "I'll draw anything for you!"

"Can we stay here for a while?" Krowell asked.

"Of course", Krom said while lifting Krowell on his lap. "We'll need to go at 11 o'clock but we still have two hours to that."

Krowell nodded and continued watching the beautiful scene with the fountain and the rising sun behind it. Krom started telling Krowell the story of the fountain which he had heard from an old gardener in the castle. The gardener had told Krom that the fountain had been built by an order of a king who had been in love with a woman who wasn't a noble and somehow wanted to make her fall in love with him. The king got an idea to build a fountain for the woman and show her how much he really loved the woman. The fountain was built and the king took the woman to see it. The woman immediately fell in love with the carvings and text of the fountain so she married the king. Later that king became their grandfather's father.

When Krom finished the story he saw that Krowell had drifted to sleep and he was now breathing silently and clutching his book to his chest. Krom smiled at Krowell's peaceful expression. He lifted Krowell up and started walking towards the castle. Krowell stayed asleep for the whole time of the walk and just when Krom was about to enter the castle Krowell woke up. Krom placed Krowell on the floor and gave Krowell's book to him.

"Let's go to my room before lunch, Krowell", Krom said and started walking towards his room. Krowell practically ran after him. After running ten meters Krowell started to get out of his breath and he had to lessen his speed a little.

"Please… wait… big… brother…" Krowell panted while slowly losing his consciousness. Krom realized that Krowell wasn't following him anymore when Krowell started coughing loudly after losing his own consciousness. Krom quickly ran to his brother and kneeled down to see what was wrong. When he saw that Krowell had lost his consciousness he quickly lifted him up and ran to the infirmary. The nurses immediately took Krowell in and gave him some medicine. When Krom tried to enter the nurses quickly blocked his way, saying that no one was allowed to enter when Krowell was that sick. They led Krom to the waiting room to wait for more news.

For the next week Krowell was kept in the infirmary. Krom was with his youngest brother almost for the whole time. Kreuz visited them as much as he could but he had to study for the bishop exams. Their parents also visited Krowell and tried to persuade Krom to go to his room even for one night but Krom didn't go. Krowell seemed to get better day by day but in the end of the week his condition suddenly worsened. The nurses asked for the permission to take Krowell to the Barsburg Empire for better treatment because the equipment in the Raggs kingdom wasn't good enough to treat Krowell's illness.

"Please draw a picture of that fountain when I'm in the Barsburg empire", Krowell smiled weakly when the nurses were preparing him for the flight to the hospital in Barsburg. "I'd be glad to see it when I come back." After that the nurses put an oxygen mask on his face. The nurses started rolling Krowell's bed to the backyard where a small aircraft was waiting for them.

Suddenly the corridor was filled with a loud cry of pain that came from Krowell's mouth. When Krom turned to see what had happened he saw that Krowell's oxygen mask was filled with blood that supposedly came from Krowell's mouth. After Krom saw that he realized that a nurse blocked his way and that someone was dragging him. That someone dragged him into his room and closed the door. Then Krom saw that it had been Kreuz who had dragged him into his room. Kreuz kneeled down and started talking to Krom with a calming tone.

"Are you alright, Krom?" Kreuz asked. "You are white like snow."

"Blood… Oxygen mask…" Krom whispered. Kreuz saw that he was shaking.

"It's alright, Krom", Kreuz whispered and hugged his older brother. Krom realized that his eyes were wet and that he was crying into his brother's shirt. Muffled sobs started coming out of Krom's mouth and suddenly he was crying into his brother's shirt with no second thought. Kreuz tried to comfort him and calm him down with no results. The sight which Krom had seen had just been too traumatizing for the young prince.

"It's alright, Krom", Kreuz whispered. "It's alright…"

After a time that felt like years, the door to Krom's room opened very quietly. The queen walked in and kneeled next to her crying sons. She hugged both of them and let them cry as much as they wanted.

"Krowell…" Krom whispered, "He didn't die… Right?"

"I am so sorry, Krom", the queen whispered and hugged her son tightly. "Krowell's heart stopped and they tried to revive him but it was no use. He had chocked by then. Krowell is dead."

A horrible cry erupted from Krom's throat after he heard his mother's last sentence. He broke down and cried into his mother's dress. The queen tried to calm him down with an old requiem that was always sung in Raggs. Some clever man gave it its name and the song is now known as Raggs requiem. After hearing the song few times Krom calmed down but he still looked like he would cry at any second. He stood up and walked to the box where he stored his painting equipment. He took out a canvas and some colors and pencils.

"I need to draw it", Krom mumbled.

"What do you need to draw?" the queen asked with a soft voice.

"I need to draw the fountain I showed Krowell", Krom mumbled. "I promised him to do it."

"Let's go there together", the queen said. She took Kreuz's hand and started walking after Krom. They walked to the spot which Krom had showed to Krowell just a week ago. Krom started painting almost immediately when he had sat down. After five minutes of painting, Krom already had drawn the basic parts of the fountain and the grass around it. He drew very intensively and wiped his tears when they threatened to fall. After few hours of intensive painting, Krom had painted a very beautiful painting of his little brother's favorite spot in the garden.

"It's beautiful, Krom", the queen said. "You should show it to your father. I am sure that he will love it. We should place it near Krowell's room."

"Right…" Krom whispered. He turned away and followed his mother.

_Goodbye, little Krowell…_

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**So, what do you think? Please review and tell me your opinions already!**


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